Blackstar (Campaign)
Blackstar is a compound campaign following the Outlaws and Avengers. Missions *Blackstar Prelude: Pestilence *Seagoon MMC, Part I *Seagoon MMC, Part II *A City Under Siege, Part I *A City Under Siege, Part II Plot Despite the deaths of the splinter team and Anderson's incapacitation at the hands of Ruaumoko , Bloodstone's gambit in Northrend paid off. Purple Python made contact with Anderson, who then contacted fellow Outlaw Jack Watermaine. After reaching Purple Python himself and confirming the survival of one member of Bloodstone's splinter team, Jack began to form a plan to find them himself and question them on the situation inside Northrend. Gathering the Outlaws When he discovered the survivor had been infected with the Black Flu and caused an outbreak in the city of Echo Myron, Jack's first step was to gather his compatriots in preparation for infiltrating the exclusion zone where she was being held. A day or so before Anderson was released from hospital, a knock on the door announced the arrival of a young man who introduced himself as Felix Masher, bastard son of Sodney Masher and Cayden's half-brother. Blackstar Prelude: Pestilence Now assembled, the Outlaws prepared to move on the exclusion zone. They fought their way inside and to the hospital, where they found a "Special Treatments" department containing an aerosol dispersal device. Felix accidentally activated this device, and the Outlaws soon began feeling the effects as their powers suddenly changed. They then found their way to the morgue, where they found Patient Zero - Morena Alton - lying dead on a slab with an assortment of medical and chemical equipment around her. When Jack attempted to read her mind he somehow revived her, and the patient managed to hide her confusion for long enough to escape the hospital with the other outlaws. By this time both the AAC and Lupaian governments had deployed forces to the area in response to the disturbance the Outlaws had caused, and the Outlaws found themselves hemmed in on all sides by AAC forces. Before they could even consider escape a helicopter landed before them and a group of soldiers - lead by a man who identified as Hawk, whom Jack instantly recognised - whisked them away. This helicopter - which had also picked up Purple Python (a fact which greatly displeased Hawk when he discovered PP was little more than a tag-along) began to make its way to Lupaia's Northrend base, but was downed by Cayden just after crossing the border. :See The Plaguing of Northrend for events between Pestilence and the rest of Blackstar. Upon returning from Northrend through the portal maintained by Sodney Masher, the Outlaws were once again left on Tophat Island. Jack, having examined a file handed to him by the former King, informed the Outlaws of their next mission; clearing up the case that had driven him from the Lupaian police force. They were headed to Destral. Seagoon MCC :Main articles: Seagoon MCC, Part I, Seagoon MCC, Part II Upon arriving at the Lupaian Special Forces airbase near Destral, the Outlaws were warned that the corruption Jack had been investigating was severe enough for them to be effectively restricted to the airbase. Working together with Hawk, Nightingale and Hercules Grytpype-Thynne, the Outlaws planned an attack on Seagoon MCC, a multinational weapons company suspected of producing weapons for The Four Horsemen. The Avengers would attack their headquarters while the Outlaws would simultaneously assault their manufacturing facility in a pincer maneuver designed to allow them to gather as much information as possible before their enemy had a chance to react. The Avengers' mission went well, revealing that Seagoon had been producing not only Blackstars but a new design of submachine gun which had been leaked to both the Horsemen and several Arsinan criminal gangs. They also discovered that the suspected corruption involved not only Moriarty, but also several significant figures in the United Nations. They travelled immediately to Loveshack to apprehend Major Bloodnok, a suspected conspirator, only to find that he had disappeared - along with Grytpype-Thynne. The Outlaws' mission was less successful. They managed to break into the facility through a shipping entrance, only to be met by a group of highly-trained guards who had anticipated their arrival. The group was decimated - with both Anderson and Felix killed in the crossfire - and Morena was only able to revive Anderson. To their horror, Felix was left to die. Enraged, the Outlaws were storming through the building toward the manufacturing line when they heard a suspicious beeping from behind them. This, they discovered, was Felix's phone. Cayden knelt beside him, injecting him with a syringe of silver liquid. The Outlaws watched from the shadows until Cayden began to leave with his half-brother, then engaged and forced him to leave empty-handed. Cayden's efforts turned out to be to their benefit, and Felix awoke confused but very much alive. After a momentary reunion with the other Outlaws he joined them in moving towards the manufacturing plant, where they discovered that the facility had indeed been producing Blackstars. They discovered one was already set to detonate at the end of the assembly line, and after discovering the plans for the device they were able to successfully disarm it - saving Arsinos' north-eastern peninsula with less than two seconds to spare. A second, inactive Blackstar was discovered - along with a document that implied three had been produced for distribution to strategic locations across Arsinos; Shrewsbury, Loveshack and Paramoria. As the Outlaws returned to the Destral airbase to investigate the nanites Felix had been injected with, Hawk's team moved into the Seagoon facility to gather what information they could, particularly the location of the third Blackstar. With no results, the Outlaws were forced to wait for news... City Under Siege :Main articles: City Under Siege, Part I, City Under Siege, Part II New Mechanics Blackstar introduces several new power-based mechanics to the Outlaws, which may last for the duration of the campaign or be adapted into future campaigns by other GMs. Group Powers Each outlaw has three powers, the third of which is typically either more specialised or more powerful than the others. For the duration of Blackstar, this power can only be used when its wielder is part of a group of four or more Outlaws. Power Mutations As a side-effect of contact with the Black Flu, the Outlaws have found their powers spontaneously changing. These powers always change to the same thing - essentially giving each Outlaw two sets of powers - and they are always changed back by the end of the mission. There are currently two ways these mutations can be triggered and two ways they can be reset - finding out what these triggers are (and how to effectively use of their mutations) will be an important part of the Blackstar campaign and will later be required for progression. Currently known mutations are: *Anderson - pyromancy (can project and spontaneously start fire, create a fireburst or summon a firestorm) *Serenity - photomancy (can create or project blinding light) *Felix - petrification (can turn himself or other objects to stone) *Jack - power absorption (can absorb energy from others' powers, either preventing their use or "buffering" a continuous attack into a single, more powerful blast) *Doc - blacklight blast (creates spontaneous explosions) *Aiden - Party Inventory A list of items currently in the possession of the Outlaws. These items may be useful in the future, or they may not - the Outlaws will have to decide what do to with this items. *Mysterious aerosol canister (Felix) *The Orb (at Jack's home) *Blackstar component (Temporarily absorbs the powers of any Outlaw who touches it) Category:Campaigns